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Before World War II, they were the Medina and Streetsboro of today. Euclid. Bedford. Lakewood. The cities we now call the inner-ring suburbs were the outlying communities of the first half of this century. Like Cleveland itself, they now struggle to retain businesses and residents who hearken to the call of the wide open spaces on the fringes of Cuyahoga County and beyond. Aware of their mutual plight, they wisely are working together to maintain relevant roles in 21st century Northeast Ohio.
Last week, the 10 suburbs that make up the Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium unveiled what they termed their Economic Revitalization Initiative. The consortium said the initiative was launched by its members 'with the common goal of combating urban sprawl, revitalizing their downtowns and other commercial areas, and preserving and strengthening the individual character of Cleveland's suburban communities.'
The heart of the effort is a 10-month planning study by Main Street Connections, a consulting firm that develops revitalization strategies for downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. It intends to address common problems of consortium members.
The initiative enjoys the support of the Cleveland Foundation, Cuyahoga County and eight area banks, and with good reason. Because these mature suburbs are up against many of the same challenges, it makes little sense for each individually to spend time and money to come up with ways to respond to their problems, and to the competition. Also, by collaborating at the front end, the suburbs will be more likely to put their heads together once the study is done to devise ways of improving their lot.
We applaud this allied effort, and hope it benefits the communities behind it.